"Judging by these songs, she's a childless man-eater who could drink Ke$ha under the table," Markovitz wrote. "That disconnect, added to the fact that Spears doesn't claim so much as a co-writing credit on a single track, can make the album feel like an autopilot affair."

However, Eric R. Danton of the Hartford Courantgave the album five stars. He said the coherency of the songs is Femme Fatale's strong point, and disagreed about the sexual nature of the songs.

"These songs complement her ability instead of forcing her beyond it," he argued. "They don't seek to over-sexualize her, and they make no oblique reference to the more unhinged episodes in her past."

Thomas Conner of the Chicago Sun Times agreed that the album lives up to its seductive title "with a limited amount of sleaze," but added that it stifles Spears' personality and voice to the point where "Lady Gaga shouldn't sweat."

Still, he argued, "Femme Fatale should have a brief and deserved moment in the spring sun."